Czech-trained crosscounty chasers have participated only sporadically in the Crystal Cup international series of crosscountry races. They have run in the Crystal Cup races at Merano and at Pardubice (the Velka Pardubicka counts as a Crystal Cup race), and in last-year’s first Crystal Cup race at Wroclaw. These courses are nowadays fully integrated into the programmes of our leading trainers over fences.

However, participation in the races further to the west, at Cheltenham, in France and in Belgium has been rare. There are various reasons for this. Our crosscountry season focuses absolutely on the Velka Pardubicka, which is run on the second Sunday in October. Most Czech-trained contenders run a very limited number of times in a season, and in many cases all of a horse’s preparatory races are at Pardubice, over most of the obstacles that the horses should master for the VP. Josef Váňa advocates preparing VP runners in this way, and the success that he has achieved has made the Pardubice route standard practice for Czech trainers. In addition, the Crystal Cup races in western Europe can be quite competitive, and prizemoney can be easier to win in non-Crystal Cup races in the French provinces.

Last year, trainer Radim Bodlák raised a lot of eyebrows by preparing the mare Delight My Fire in a radically different way. In December 2016, she was sent over to Cheltenham, where she ran very well before she fell at the 6th from home, when apparently still in contention. In May 2017, she ran in a Graded 1 race at Milano, finishing in 3rd place, not far behind good opposition. In June 2017, she ran in the Crystal Cup race at Wroclaw, Poland, where she finished 2nd. In August 2017, she ran in the main preparatory race for the Gran Premio, finishing in a creditable 5th place against very strong opposition. Four weeks before the VP, she went back to Wroclaw, and won the Wielka Wroclawska. This was her preparation for the VP, and the trainer’s sanity was questioned. However, she ran a really fine race at Pardubice on October 8th, finishing in a good third place behind No Time To Lose and Urgent de Gregaine.

The trainer and owner seem again to be determined to enjoy having a horse good enough to run anywhere in Europe. The entries are in for the Crystal Cup race at Fontainebleu on April 4th, and Delight My Fire is one of them.

Delight My Fire is a big favourite of the Dostihový svět English pages, as is the idea of travelling through Europe with a good Czech-trained horse.